Best web-based email provider

Aiadi

Hi everybody. I was so impressed with some guys here pointing me towards Streamload to backup my files online, I had to ask this question to get your expert opinion: What is the best web-based email account to have and why? My feeling is that it should be totally reliable and easy to use with useful features and big storage and probably something that won't expire if not used for some time. Is there such an (ideal) email or something even better?

sra

It would be really hard to answer that question right now because the big 3 email providers are all changing.

Hotmail is testing out its new Live mail service
Yahoo is trying out Yahoo Mail Beta
and Gmail is still in Beta so you can't be 100% sure what will be in the final version (e.g Will they still allow pop access?)

Aiadi

As the jury is still out on this one, I'll have to wait and see then. Thanks sra. :beer:

robt_2

I have used gmail for well over a year now and never had any problems - give it a try and see if you like it, it is free afterall! If you want to, send me a pm with your current email address and I will send you an invite (applies to anyone who wants one!)

Need_More_Money_2

Aiadi wrote:

Hi everybody. I was so impressed with some guys here pointing me towards Streamload to backup my files online, I had to ask this question to get your expert opinion: What is the best web-based email account to have and why? My feeling is that it should be totally reliable and easy to use with useful features and big storage and probably something that won't expire if not used for some time. Is there such an (ideal) email or something even better?

I think fastmail (https://www.fastmail.fm) is really good. It is slick and fast and doesn't have all the annoying graphics you get with hotmail/yahoo etc. But the amount of storage space you get is quite small unless you pay. You can increase the storage a bit with a one-off membership fee, but to get to the storage levels available with hotmail you need to pay a yearly subscription. Depends if you need to keep lots of emails online.
One advantage is that it works with IMAP as standard (even without paying a fee) so you can use with an email program like outlook

Brodel

a vote for gmail here. Seems to beat all the others in ease of use, storage, features etc... can't live without the autosave feature now lol.

IvanOpinion

I use 'gmai' (googlemail)l and 'yahoo' and both have worked great, both seem to have quite good spam filters. Used ot have hotmail but gave it up due to the amount of spam and other rubbish it allowed through.

While I have several public emails I also have a private one that I never give out .. anything I want to keep from my public emails gets sent to the private one (contains no spam, easy to search, easy to find stuff).

Ivan

tomstickland

I use the free webmail that comes with fasthosts accounts. I can configure as many email addresses as I want.

mainecoon

Another vote for Gmail

MickKnipfler

I tried United Mail Systems. An incredible 5Mb of storage but it's always down....

kathfisch

Yep, another vote for gmail! I used to use Hotmail but find gmail so much easier and its email management (i.e. labels and searching rather than folders) makes so much more sense to me. Pity that any new uk accounts are now @googlemail, its just not so snappy sounding! Unless, that is, you've got a helpful friend in ireland to set it up for you